19th China Dongming Watermelon Festival Celebrates Grand Opening

DONGMING, China, June 18, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–

The 19th China Dongming Watermelon Festival kicked off in Xiaojing Town, Dongming County, China on June 16, drawing in over 30,000 visitors.

Image: Opening Ceremony

During the opening ceremony, the night sky was adorned with vibrant, colourful lights, creating a dreamlike atmosphere that enveloped Xiaojing Town. The amalgamation of lights and nightfall contributed to a lively and festive ambiance. The event featured a wide array of artistic performances, including cross-talk, dances, songs, and operas, which enthralled visitors and garnered rounds of applause.

Dongming County, located in the southwest of Shandong Province, is known for being the first county through which the Yellow River flows in Shandong Province. Boasting a 72-kilometer riverbank along the Yellow River, the region features a distinctive geographical landscape characterized by sandy loam soil and the Yellow River’s alluvial plain. With significant day-night temperature variations and abundant sunlight, the area is conducive to the growth of watermelons. Dongming County has a longstanding tradition of watermelon cultivation and is renowned as one of the earliest, largest, and highest-quality watermelon production areas nationwide. The watermelons in Dongming are esteemed for their large size, juicy flesh, and sweet and mellow flavor. In recent years, newly introduced and cultivated watermelon varieties have stood out for their thin skin, fine texture, sweet aroma, nutritional safety, and excellent taste and appearance.

The original production area of Dongming watermelon covers 10,000 hectares with an annual output of 450,000 tons, according to Sun Qianguo, Party Secretary of the CPC Dongming County Committee. This industry drives year-round cultivation on 350,000 mu of land, yielding a total production of 1.2 million tons with a value of 1.2 billion yuan. The watermelon industry has become a distinctive, advantageous, and income-boosting pillar of Dongming agriculture, bringing significant benefits to the local community.